A Caring Resource Pregnancy Center offers support for all

Not enough people realize there is a great facility for our youth and adults. A Caring Resource Pregnancy Center opened in 1999 in Brush. In 2001, it received its 501C3 status to make it a non-profit organization. A branch opened in Holyoke in 2008 and two new centers opened in Sterling and Yuma in the last year. They have over 70 volunteers and they serve all of northeast Colorado. This means the four centers cover just over 9,000 square miles.
A Caring Resource Pregnancy Center is there for all young girls, women and those who love them to offer the kind of service they need if they find themselves pregnant and are thinking of abortion. Some of the goals of the center are to offer women and their families and those they love a free and confidential pregnancy test; pregnancy information that is accurate; a layette and infant's clothing up to 18 months; adoption support; care after the pregnancy; referrals for community organizations which offer other care and support; and an ear of someone who is willing to listen and help in any way they can.
The center also provides presentations in schools to middle and high school age children. The program is called REAL Essentials and focuses on developing healthy relationships, goal setting, character development, personal responsibility and leadership skills and it is done in a fun way.

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They also cover sexuality within the context of the whole person including physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual, financial and the character. They discuss the negative consequences of early sexual activity, sexual assault and how to say no in a positive way.
Following are what some middle school students wrote who have taken the classes.
"I learned about how to make good choices and how to build healthy relationships; I feel like someone finally understood me; I learned a lot about how to keep a good relationship strong; I learned how different ways love is expressed; I learned more about myself; I learned that every decision you make impacts your life in either a little way or a big way; To love and care for myself; I learned that it is not a good idea to have a baby in high school; I learned that it may be hard, but I can say no; I need to plan my life for the future; I learned that some people like myself are saving their virginity for marriage; I am going to stand for what I believe even if it means standing alone; I learned why waiting for marriage is important; I learned that STDs are very easily exchanged; I feel more confident in setting boundaries for myself; I learned how to keep myself safe from getting STDs; I learned how to set healthy boundaries, how to build and sustain a healthy relationship and how to recognize certain situations; I learned different types of love...I learned about toxic relationships and how to stay away from them; I learned how to have a healthy relationship and how to be prepared for my future; I learned to make good decisions about my future and not do dumb things... think, stop, choose with intent:
Right now, the center holds classes in the Wiggins Middle and High School, Brush Middle and High School, Lone Star, Fort Morgan and Yuma Middle and High School and they are also working with Otis and Wray to bring classes to those schools.
The center holds their annual fundraiser the last weekend of January and has a banquet with guest speakers in two or three different locations. This year the center's board decided to try and raise the funds for a portable medical facility and an ultrasound. They were able to raise these funds in just three days. They also have a doctor, Jenn Lentz, who has volunteered to work on and take their mobile unit out to communities they serve. Several nurses have also volunteered to work with the mobile unit. It is not known when the mobile unit will be ready, but it should be sometime in 2018.
The center can always use more donations for operating costs and upkeep of the mobile unit and for the work they do at their four centers. They can also use volunteers. The executive director of the A Caring Pregnancy Resource Center is Faye Barnhart, who has been with the center since July of 2015. The board is comprised of Greg Furman, Chairman; Don Smith, Vice Chairman; Tony Carlson, Treasurer; Linda Smith, Secretary; Washington County Commissioner Lea Ann Laybourn; Andrew Smith; and Adam Wills. Those who volunteer to go into the classrooms and discuss the REAL Essential program have over 2,000 hours of training.
As Barnhart said, "We are here to offer non-judgmental services and to educate women that there are many decisions that need to be made, but we try to do with the women and the people she loves, so that the whole family is involved. There are many choices beside abortion and we don't know if those babies who have been aborted could be the president, discover a cure for cancer or any number of things. We are here to offer support, friendship, be a mentor, listen to them and any other way we may be of help. If they do choose abortion or choose to keep their baby, we offer support sessions after the baby is born and help in a way we can. We feel we offer a needed and essential service for all."